Matsuya to launch ‘premium’ beef bowl in de facto price hike

Matsuya Foods Co., operator of the Matsuya beef bowl chain, has announced it will launch a more expensive premium version of its mainstay dish on Tuesday that will eliminate the regular version in the Kanto region.

A regular serving of the premium product will cost ¥380 — ¥90 more than its usual beef-on-rice dish.

The company plans to serve the premium dish at 286 of its restaurants initially and expand that to 621 by the end of the month, mainly in Tokyo and six other prefectures in the Kanto region.

Sales of the current beef-on-rice dish will then be terminated at those outlets.

At a news conference in Tokyo, Matsuya President Genji Midorikawa touted the new item as the ultimate beef-on-rice dish, known popularly as “gyudon” but sold as “gyumeshi” by Matsuya. It plans to release premium versions of other menu items as well.

Midorikawa said the premium dish tastes different because it uses chilled beef instead of frozen and comes with a special sauce.

Matsuya spent about a year developing the new product to cater to a growing number of customers who prefer quality to quantity as the gyudon price-cutting war runs its course amid an uptick in the economy.